General Tso

The recipe below is the most complex we have posted so far (and the most complex I have made, so exciting!)- but also one of the most delicious!

I never grew up eating Chinese food in the house- I can still remember one of the first times I had it, freshman year of high school on my first date (!)- I went for the exotic orange chicken. (Ha!)
Flash forward seven years I would find myself living in China for 6 weeks with a wonderful host family who cooked for me every single day I was there - incredible. The food I had the pleasure of eating surprisingly (thank goodness!) bore little resemblance to the food I ate while on my first date. This food was much less greasy and much more reliant on fresh produce. (So much better!)
However, both styles of Chinese food are incredibly challenging to make and seemed to require a different awareness in the kitchen than preparing traditional "American" (ie Italian, Mexican) cuisine. Let the challenges begin!

Over the past year or so, as Jess and I transitioned to being Vegan, much of what we make has been created from shamelessly mimicking other recipes we have seen.
To this point, we were incredibly pleased when we found Whole Foods serving Vegan General Tso's Seitan at one of their prepared food counters.
This dish, with its heavy hand of fresh vegetables, reminded us of the food we each enjoyed in China and we eagerly bought it and enjoyed on far too many occasions, without actually attempting to make it ourselves.
Given our past resolution, we were THRILLED when the recipe was handed out at this year's Green Festival.
The first time we tried making it (a few months ago), it was good, although it bore very little resemblance to the food we first indulged in at Whole Foods.
The second attempt was much closer to the real thing, and we highly recommend working with and tweaking this recipe for the more ambitious among you!

General Tso's Seitan

Ingredients:

1 12oz package of seitan (or 1 and 1/2 8 oz packages)

1/2 lb. broccoli chopped

2 sliced peppers

1/2 lb. onion chopped

1tsp. minced fresh ginger

3 Tbs peanut oil (2 Tbs if using a non-stick pan)

Batter for the seitan:

1/4 cups all-purpose whole wheat flour

2 Tbs. cornstarch

1 tsp. egg replacer (such as Ener-G)

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 cups unsweetened soy milk (we use light soy milk)

1 Tbs. soy sauce

For the sauce:

1/4 cups soy sauce

2 Tbs. rice vinegar

3 Tbs. Vegetable broth

2 1/4 Tbs agave nectar (or 3 Tbs sugar)

2 tsp. cornstarch

In a small bowl combine all the sauce ingredients, mix and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients for the batter, then whisk in soy milk and soy sauce.

Cut the seitan into one inch(ish) pieces and mix with batter.

Heat 2 Tbs. peanut oil in a wok over medium/high heat and then add the seitan. Fry until pieces are brown and crispy, constantly stir and ensure the pieces remain separate (this can take up to 10 minutes) and then removed the seitan from heat.

Add the remaining 1 Tbs. of oil to the wok and add onion. Cook till almost translucent and add broccoli and peppers (and/or any other vegetables you would like). Stir fry and add ginger. Add the sauce and cook for three minutes and then stir in the seitan.

Serve on its own or with forbidden rice.